All posts tagged T.I.

As teased at last month’s Comic-Con, Marvel’s next big project “Ant-Man” began production today in San Francisco. The film is being directed by Peyton Reed (“Bring It On”) and stars Paul Rudd as the titular character, as well as Michael Douglas as Dr. Hank Pym and Evangeline Lilly as his daughter, Hope Van Dyne.

The film is scheduled to hit theaters on July 17, 2015.

“Ant-Man” has also added a host of new cast members, including “House of Cards” and “The Strain” star Corey Stoll, Bobby Cannavale, Judy Greer, and rapper/actor T.I. “Mad Men” star John Slattery will reprise his “Iron Man 2” role as Howard Stark. Read More »

The video, first posted on YouTube on Aug. 29, was removed on Sept. 1 and then reinstated on Sept. 2. It has been viewed roughly 593,000 times.

“With the massive volume of videos on our site, sometimes we make the wrong call. When it’s brought to our attention that a video has been mistakenly removed, we act quickly to reinstate it,” YouTube said in a statement to the Journal.

“Defined Lines” features Olivia Lubbock, Zoe Ellwood, Adelaide Dunn, a group of Auckland University students who call themselves the Law Revue Girls, as well as three men in boxer briefs. The parody swaps the gender roles of the original song with lyrics like “What you see on TV / Doesn’t speak equality / It’s straight up misogyny.” It also has the guys dancing around the ladies, a reverse of what’s been dubbed by some “the song of the summer.” Read More »

Yesterday, rapper-singer Lauryn Hill was sentenced to three months in prison for tax evasion. The sentence prompted some observers to wonder why Hill–a Grammy-winning artist who built her career on a positive songs–was given any prison time at all, especially given the fact that her lawyers said she already had paid the government more than $900,000 to settle her tax bill.

But the news also raised another question: could her jail stint help her record sales?

Hill hasn’t released an album of new studio material since her 1998 solo debut “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.” She recently announced that she had signed a new record deal, and she released a single titled “Neurotic Society (Compulsory Mix).” But after being out of the mainstream music game for so long, the 37-year-old Hill faces an uphill battle to getting the public’s attention.

Yesterday’s sentence got her trending again.

Lots of rap, rock, pop and country stars have done time in jail, including Paul McCartney, Merle Haggard, and Snoop Dogg aka Snoop Lion. While imprisonment is sometimes seen as a career-ender, there’s a track record of musical artists who have seen sales bump–or a career resurgence– after doing time.

Rap and rock have roots in the blues, and the blues is built on danger. Blues diva Bessie Smith was known for her song “Jailhouse Blues,” and bluesman Son House was said to have done time for murdering a man at a party (I discovered in a book I co-wrote called “The Blues,” that House probably was only incarcerated for bootlegging, but the legend added to his outlaw allure). And Elvis, of course, helped the “Jailhouse Rock.” Read More »

The rapper T.I., arrested on drug possession last month in Los Angeles, is headed back to jail. A federal judge today sentenced the Grammy-winning hip-hop star to an 11-month prison sentence in Atlanta. The arrest was a violation of T.I.’s parole; he was previously arrested in 2007 for trying to purchase illegal firearms and served jail time. The news comes at a bad time career-wise for the rapper. He had been working on a much-anticipated album called “King Uncaged” and recently scored a hit with the film “Takers,” which he starred in and produced. Read More »

Rapper-actor T.I., who produced and starred in “Takers,” the top film of last weekend, was arrested on drug charges in West Hollywood.

According to L.A. County sheriff’s officials, the rap star (born Clifford Harris Jr.) and his wife, Tameka “Tiny” Cottle, were pulled over on Sunset Blvd. on Wednesday night and “During the course of the traffic stop, deputies smelled a strong odor of marijuana emitting from the vehicle.” According to the statement, the couple were “found to be in possession of a controlled substance” and were booked on drug possession charges.

The FBI and Michael Jackson, Van Halen and Guitar Hero, T.I. and freedom, and more…

The FBI Michael Jackson Files: The Federal Bureau of Investigation yesterday released its files on pop singer Michael Jackson in response to Freedom of Information Act requests. 333 pages of records on Jackson were issued, and the documents detail the FBI’s assistance to California authorities looking into two allegations that Jackson had abused children (neither allegation was ever proven in court). The files also cover the FBI’s investigation into a man who allegedly threatened to kill Jackson in 1992. “The man—who falsely claimed to be the son of mobster John Gotti—had staked out Jackson’s house and threatened to kill him, the U.S. president, and others,” the FBI said on its Web site. “He was ruled incompetent to stand trial and sent to prison for two years.” [FBI]

Van Halen Does Guitar Hero:“Guitar Hero: Van Halen,” out this week, seeks to introduce a new generation of gamers to the veteran rock band. The Activision video game allows users to play along to 25 of the band’s hits, including “Jump” and “Panama.” Original band member David Lee Roth can be heard singing the lead, and the release also features songs by Weezer, Lenny Kravitz , and The Clash. The game follows the success of special band editions featuring Metallica and Aerosmith. [Guitarhero]

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Speakeasy is a blog covering media, entertainment, celebrity and the arts. The publication is produced by Barbara Chai and Jonathan Welsh with contributions from the Wall Street Journal staff and others. Write to us at speakeasy@wsj.com or follow us on Twitter at @WSJSpeakeasy or individually @barbarachai.